Light and nature interact on pastures

PASO ROBLES, California－It's an art installation, sure. But the internationally acclaimed artist who created the interactive work Field of Light at Sensorio in California sees it as much more than that.

It is, says Bruce Munro, a conduit of sorts allowing its viewers to better commune with nature when taking in "Sensorio's 58,000 shimmering, flowerlike lights that have been painstakingly installed over 6 hectares of pristine pasture in the heart of central California wine country.

"I don't want to sound like some kind of ancient hippie because I'm not," the 60-year-old British artist says with a laugh as he discusses his latest－and largest－light exhibition.

When the sun sets behind the rolling hills on the edge of the small picturesque town of Paso Robles and the lights come on, Munro says he senses a kind of tranquil peace settling over the hundreds of people who come each night to walk the hills and valleys bathed in his creation's gentle but colorful illumination.

"It almost is a lens to see the landscape that you're in," he said. "The landscape－nature－really does help us find a balance in our lives.

"We all are leading incredibly busy lives," he continues. "Busier than ever and with more screen time. And this is really an opportunity to get off-screen, to get back into the real world. You know, to smell the cut grass, the fresh air. Or whatever. And be a part of it."

Munro has been putting up light-centric installations around the world for 15 years. The works in his Field of Light series vary in appearance from sculptures to garden rooms to everyday objects that reflect light. His most famous, at least until now, is likely Field of Light at Uluru, located in the red rock desert of Australia, a region considered sacred to the aboriginal people.

Fourteen years in the planning, it opened in 2016 for a brief run that has since been extended indefinitely.

It is similar to Sensorio but smaller, made up of 50,000 colorful, solar-powered twinkling orbs. The artist insists that had nothing to do with his trying to outdo himself by putting his largest work to date in California.

"Size is relevant to the landscape it inhabits," he said. "I don't put lights in to make bigger and bigger installations."

At Sensorio, viewers see lights from numerous perspectives, including above and below, as they stroll the dirt paths bathed in softly lit colors. The result is a feeling of immersion in a world of quiet yet beautiful tranquillity.

The exhibition, initially scheduled to close in January, has been extended through June.

When it does close, Munro says, future visitors will hardly know it was there.

"Part of the reason we wanted to do solar is because there is no infrastructure that needs to be dug in," he said. "Everything is on the surface. When it's time does come to disappear, and the landscape comes back, the existing landscape or something else that goes there, its footprint will be very minimal."